A Noble Legacy: Fiery Gold
by kewlcatz
Summary: First story, go easy on me. It will end up being long and in series much like the real books. The entire collection is called "A Noble Legacy" this section is "Fiery Gold". Rated for violence, no worse than the real books. Find out what happens after The Last Hope, what happens to Firestar's decendents? Pairings: BramblexSquirrel, LionxCinder, BumblexDove, some of my own cats.
1. Chapter 1

Takes place after the last hope (Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw made up)

Disclaimer: I don't own the warriors series or the characters in it

Squirrelflight twitched her ears and raised her head after a long night of sleep. She looked around the nursery at the sleeping bodies of Cinderheart, as heavy with kits as herself, and Daisy with her new kits, Moonkit, Thistlekit, and Darkkit. She purred to herself quietly at Darkkit flipped his bulky black body onto Moonkits smaller creamy white one in his sleep. Moonkit quickly responded to the sudden wake-up with a squeaky yowl and a push back, shoving him onto Thistlekit's gray tabby form, effectively waking up the camp. Knowing there would be no sleep for her now, Squirrelflight padded out into the early dawn light, huge belly swinging beneath her. She paused at the edge of the clearing for a nice long stretch and a quick lick through her chest fur. To complete her morning routine, she padded up to the leaders cave to wake her mate, Bramblestar.

She was his deputy too, but for now Lionblaze was being her substitute, as she was heavy with kits. They weren't always this close though. She remembered the cold silence of Bramblestar that she had received for moons before the battle. It wasn't without good reason of course, she had lied to the clan, including him, to raise her sister Leafpool's kits as her own. She only did it out of loyalty. Her sister was a medicine cat and thereby wasn't allowed kits. In the end though, the battle opened their eyes. Although they lost their adopted daughter Hollyleaf, they regained each other's love, and forged a closer bond with their two remaining adopted sons- Jayfeather, the new medicine cat, and Lionblaze, the best fighter in the clan. She shook the sentimental thoughts from her head and turned into Bramblestar's den.

She saw his immense sleeping form and twitched her whiskers in amusement at his soft snores. She considered meowing in his ear, but decided to be especially cruel today. Taking a quick scan of the den, she saw a stray feather and narrowed her eyes at her idea. Taking the feather by the base, she leaned from behind him and tickled his nose. Grumbling, he reached up- in a lighter sleep now- to grab at the annoyance. She then moved to his eyelids, gliding across them with the feather until they started to twitch and open. She took the opportunity to slink back a few foxtails behind him. As he began to raise his head, she pounced! Flattening him to the ground, she bent down and growled in his ear "Boo." The sudden awakening had him thrashing beneath her, but at the sound of her voice he relaxed and let out an exasperated sigh. "Really Squirrelflight? How mature of you."

"Thank you very much." she said smugly as she hopped deftly off of him and turned to watch him shake the dust off his pelt, tail tip twitching.

He glared at her "You could at least refrain from laughing." he said, trying to sound angry.

Squirrelflight saw through him in an instant and twined her tail with his as she leaned into him, purring. "I could... but you love me, so I won't" She said cheekily.

"Your too smart for your own good" he said, as he rested his head on hers and closed his eyes happily.

They stayed like that for a moment, in silence, just soaking up the love from one another's presence. They were broken by Lionblaze asking permission to enter. As they separated and Brambleclaw meowed a yes, he eyed Squirrelflight as if to say YOU SHOULD TRY THAT SOMETIME Squirrelflight only lifted her tail up in the air and padded out of the den, head held too high to be serious.

Bramblestar watched, whiskers twitching, as his orange mate left his den with her head high enough to sniff a cloud. As she passed Lionblaze, he saw the golden tom watch her leave with a bemused expression. He had enough sense not to bother asking, Squirrelflight does what Squirrelflight does. Lionblaze dipped his head to the big tabby. "Bramblestar I was wondering how many hunting patrols you think we should send out today. We already have one prey hole stocked for winter, do you think we need more." Bramblestar pondered this. If they sent out more warriors, they would have more prey for winter and thereby be stronger and more able to fend off sickness and attacks. However, the extra patrols would require 7-8 cats out of camp, and then 2-3 digging a new hole for the extra prey. After a few seconds of thinking, he decided to take the risk. "Thunderclan has more warriors than usual, lets put them to use. Choose four cats for a usual patrol and send three out for the prey hole. Put Dustpelt and Brackenfur on digging the prey hole."

"Good idea." Lionblaze responded. "Dustpelt is still mourning Ferncloud. It will be good for him to have something to keep his paws busy."

Bramblestar nodded and added "Also, make sure you get Lilypaw and Seedpaw out to hunt. Those two are energetic and they haven't gotten much action these past few days."

Lionblaze dipped his head and the two large toms headed out of the den together to greet the clan.

Bramblestar padded off to find his mate again, feeling the mood for an early walk around the territory. Although hunting would be more ideal, he knew that this late into her pregnancy, it was too risky. As he looked in the nursery he saw that she was entertaining Daisy's kits. Or rather, herself, as she didn't even notice his presence. He decided to leave her in peace and was about to head off on his own when he bumped into Leafpool... literally.

"Oh!" he meowed in surprise as he knocked into her. "I'm so sorry I didn't see you!"

"We didn't see each other" Leafpool said in her usual peaceful manner. "No harm done anyway."

Bramblestar twitched his tail in response and realized he hadn't really spent much time with Leafpool. Thinking about it, he felt a little bad, especially because she was Squirrelflight's sister.

"Hey," he meowed, "I was just heading out for a hunt, would you like to come? I can tell Lionblaze that you did your share of work today."

"Sure!" she meowed, obviously happy that he had decided to invite her. "I can go tell him, I'll be right back." As he watched her dash away, he felt even worse. WHAT IF SHE DOESN'T KNOW I'VE FORGIVEN HER he wonders. He had made it clear to Squirrelflight that she was excused, but left Leafpool hanging.

By the time she returned, cheerful and excited, he was in a really low mood, heavy with guilt. However, he picked his head up as she neared him, making sure she knew he was happy to go with her. They set off at a relaxed run, loping through the now almost-bare trees and brown fallen leaves surrounding them. The colors were actually ideal. They were both brown shades, which blended well for hunting.

As he picked up the pace until they were racing, his mood went up a little, but the guilt lingered. As they slowed down, Leafpool almost immediately veered to the right, following an invisible scent trail. Bramblestar soon picks up his own. A rabbit, most likely strayed from Windclan territory. He padded along the trail and slowed as the scent got stronger. When he was close enough, he went into the hunter's crouch, stalking low through the brittle grasses. He finally saw his target- A huge hare, almost as big as an apprentice. It was a lucky find so late into leaf-fall, and would feed the entire nursery, seeing as Daisy's kits ate barely any meat and mostly milk. He stalked closer and closer, until he was in pouncing range. He flew into the air and landed square on his prey- it never had a chance. With a swift bite to the throat, it was over.

After the rush of the hunt left him, the sour mood returned, and even though he returned to meet Leafpool with his hare, a squirrel, and a mouse, he still couldn't shake the guilt. As they padded towards camp, Leafpool abruptly dropped her two squirrels and stopped. "Thats it."

Bramblestar turned his head questioningly.

"What is up? You're never this down!"

Bramblestar sighed and decided to get straight to the point. "I feel bad." He said simply.

Leafpool said tightly "Obviously." and lashed her tail in frustration. "Why?"

"I never properly forgave you for keeping the secret, and I feel terrible that this whole time you could've been waiting for forgiveness that never came. And Leafpool if that is the case I promise I didn't mean to be so cruel, I just automatically assumed that it was all ok once I forgave Squirrelflight."

"Oh." Leafpool meowed, understanding. "You assumed right Bramblestar though. I understand that you forgave me, although now that you've said it out loud it helps." she purrs "It was enough for me to see Squirrelflight happy again."

Bramblestar purred with her "She deserves to be as happy as she can be." He said, his love for the ginger she-cat obvious in his voice. And with that they picked up their kill and started again towards camp.

As Bramblestar headed off at the base of the hill, Lionblaze saw Cinderheart squeeze her way out of the nursery and pad over to touch her nose to his own. He purred and rubbed his cheek against hers before turning his attention to patrols as she gave his shoulder an affectionate lick.

"All right," he called, raising his voice a bit so all the warriors could hear him. "Time for morning patrols!"

The warriors came flooding from various points of the camp to stand before Lionblaze.

"Bumblestripe, lead a patrol along the Shadowclan border and choose three cats to come with you, along with Seedpaw."

The pale striped tom dipped his head in acknowledgement and immediately heads over to his mate Dovewing and his sister Blossomfall, sending Mousewhisker to wake Seedpaw. As the patrol padded out of camp, Blossomfall twined her tail with the gray and white tom's, and Lionblaze purred knowingly. He then turned his golden head back to face his clan.

"Poppyfrost, take Lilypaw and two other warriors out for a hunting patrol."

Poppyfrost nodded and left the camp with her mate, Berrynose, her already awake apprentice, and Sandstorm, still the clan's best hunter.

"Toadstep, Icecloud, and Ivypool, you'll be the sunhigh patrol along the Windclan border."

The chosen cats flicked their tails to show they heard him.

"We are making a second preyhole as well. Brackenfur and Dustpelt, I don't suppose you would mind?"

The Brackenfur waved his tail in the air and Dustpelt twitched his ears.

"We are stocking up prey for the winter, so if anyone has extra time on their paws, feel free to go hunting or help out with the digging. You can never be too prepared!"

With that he waved his tail to dismiss the clan. He turned to Cinderheart, who had been patiently waiting through the meeting. He purred and nuzzled her fluffy ear, running his tail along her pregnant belly.

"Jayfeather says there should be around three to four." She purred in her gentle voice. "I can't wait to be a mother!"

Lionblaze twitched his whiskers at her enthusiasm. "I can't wait to be a father. They will grow to be strong warriors."

Cinderheart nodded in agreement. "We should start to think of names, don't you think?"

"Yes," Lionblaze meowed, "Maybe we could name a tom Firekit…" his voice trailed off as he remembered the great Thunderclan leader, Firestar, who had died in the battle against the Place of No Stars. Died defending his clan, just as he had lived. Lionblaze shook the sad thoughts and met Cinderheart's concerned eyes with a reassuring purr. She touched her nose lightly to his shoulder for comfort.

"I was thinking the same thing, and I thought maybe Sunkit, if we end up with a handsome golden tom." she purred "And Willowkit for a she-kit, after Sorreltail's mother."

Lionblaze nodded his approval, eyes sparkling again at the prospect of his kits. "I thought of Hollykit too."

Cinderheart swished her tail happily. "We will have the most perfect kits in the world."

Lionblaze rested his head on her's and said "Yes we will."


	2. Chapter 2

Cinderheart picked up a mouse from the fresh kill pile and padded over to Lionblaze. He twitched his tail in greeting and they settled down to eat. After they finished their meal, she began grooming his pelt as he groomed her face gently. She purred and they contentedly cleaned each other. Their peace was disturbed rather suddenly by Lilypaw bowling Cinderheart over after tripping over Lionblaze's paw. Cinderheart let out a grunt of pain as the apprentice's flying paws hit her large belly. Lilypaw scrambled to her paws frantically, and raced over to Cinderheart.

"Are you ok?! Oh my starclan Cinderheart I am SO sorry! I didn't see Lionblaze's paw and Seedpaw was chasing me so I wasn't paying attention I am so sorry, you're not hurt are you? Oh no! Did I injure the kits? If I did I'll never forgive myself! Oh my starclan I PROMISE I didn't mean to!" She wailed out.

Cinderheart got to her feet with a purr and saw Seedpaw standing a few fox lengths away, looking guilty. "Don't worry Lilypaw I'm fine." She sniffed at her side, "If anything it will just be a small bruise." she meowed comfortingly.

Lionblaze did not look as calm. In the time it took for her to calm the worried apprentice, he had gotten his brother Jayfeather, the medicine cat, to check her over. He threw up a cloud of dust as he skidded to a stop bye his mate. Jayfeather padded at a much slower pace behind him, blind eyes obviously annoyed at being disturbed over a mouse-brained apprentice.

"Lionblaze calm your fur! I'm sure she's fine!" the grumpy medicine cat growled with an eye roll.

The large golden tome ignored his brother, nosing at his mate worriedly. Cinderheart let out an impatient huff as he prodded her.

"I'm fine! It'll take more than an apprentice to take me down!" she nosed him away, only half jokingly.

"Your not fine until I say you are." retorted Lionblaze, earning a glare from Jayfeather who icily replied

"I'm sorry great Lionblaze, for disrupting your panic attack, but I believe shes fine when I say she is."

Lionblaze rolled his eyes and stepped back, while Cinderheart waited, flicking her tail impatiently. Jayfeather nosed over her belly, prodding with his paw. Cinderheart let out a slight "Ow", as he reached a certain spot, causing Lionblaze to tense up.

"Great starclan!" muttered the annoyed medicine cat. "Its just a bruise." Then he turned back to Cinderheart. "You'll be fine, worst case it might ache for a while, the kits are fine though."

Cinderheart narrowed her eyes at Lionblaze, amused, while the ruffled tom mumbled "Better safe than sorry."

Jayfeather rolled his eyes "Safe or paranoid." he muttered with a lash of his tail as he padded back to his nap.

Cinderheart purred and pushed her head under Lionblaze's chin. He purred and curved his fluffy tail over her belly protectively.

"Feel like getting out of the camp today?." he murmured gently.

She nodded and slid away from his hold, padding a few steps toward the entrance tunnel with Lionblaze on her paws. As they entered the forest they broke into a lope, gliding over the dappled forest floor. After a while they reached their favorite spot, a strange oak tree with branches that grew mostly outward, creating a little shell high in the tree. Cinderheart didn't break pace as they reached the tree, only leapt up as far as she could go and started scaling it, trying to ignore the extra weight of her belly.

Lionblaze was not so confident. Never really a great climber, he preferred to map out his route from the ground first. He was used to this tree though, so it only took a few seconds before he launched himself after the pale grey she-cat. To his surprise, he overtook her, before realizing that she was carrying quite a weight. He slowed down to wait, until he saw her blue eyes narrow.

"Don't you dare slow down for me!" she hissed, only half-joking.

He flicked his ears and went at his normal pace again. She pushed herself faster until she regained the lead, if only by a mouse-tail. She hauled herself over the edge into the hollow of branches and collapsed, panting. He popped up over the edge a second later, and settled down into the leaves. He looked at her admiringly as she caught her breath. _I'm so lucky to have her. _He thought, knowing how hard it must've been for her to keep up. When she finally stopped panting, she turned her soft gray head to face him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she purred in a teasing tone, jerking him from his thoughts.

He purred and said shamelessly "Because I love you."

His whiskers twitched in amusement when he could just see a pinkish tinge appear on her cheeks. He opened his mouth in mock amazement. "Is the great Cinderheart _blushing?_" he said, holding back a mrrow of laughter.

She rolled her eyes, trying to shake off the hot feeling in her pelt. "Oh shut up mousebrain, or else I'll embarrass _you_."

He immediately covered his jaws with his tail, playing along with her fierce act. She purred at his attempt at humoring her and cuddled in beside him, tucking her body along his. He pulled her even closer with his tail until grey fur melded into golden. They lay there in silence for a while, watching the sunset. Then Lionblaze let his eyes drift to the side to look at his mate. He loved the way the dying sunlight hit her fur, making the ends smolder with fiery orange. He leaned forward to groom her ears and she purred deep in her throat. Closing her eyes to bask in the warmth of the sun and Lionblaze. Then she tucked her head into his thick chest fur, resting it on his paws. She opened her eyes to look up at him in a shining blue gaze filled with love. He purred strongly and licked the top of her head until she drifted off. He soon followed, placing his head on her's.

Cinderheart awoke with the dawn light, and disentangled herself from her mate's golden form to stretch. She then set to cleaning herself, smoothing her fluffy fur as best she could. After that was done, the grey she cat sat up and listened to the forest. The birds were chirping brightly, and the sun had risen above the trees now. She glanced down at Lionblaze, admiring his broad shoulders that rose with each breath he took. Shaking her head, she narrowed her eyes. _Shoulders that should be moving around by now! _She prodded him with a paw to rouse the tom from his sleep. When that didn't work, she cuffed him over the ears growling playfully. His eyelids slid open to look at her, and apparently decided he was still sleeping, as he promptly closed them. Thats when Cinderheart decided to stop being gentle. She picked him up by his scruff and shook him around.

"Wha? Hey! Lemme go!" he yowled in surprise.

She dropped him and stepped back, whiskers twitching. When he fixed her in a glare, she just couldn't hold back a cheeky "Goodmorning to you too."

He just rolled his eyes and shook out his fur, wide awake now. "Let's head back to camp, the other's must be wondering what happened to us."

She nodded, amusement still lingering in her eyes. The fluffy she-cat led the way down the tree and through the forest. They went at a faster pace on the way back, not wanting their clanmates to worry too much. Suddenly Cinderheart felt a flash of searing, white hot pain in her belly, and collapsed to the ground, rolling a bit. Lionblaze skidded to a stop immediately with a yowl of terror. "Cinderheart! What happened?" he raced to her side, eyes wide and anxious.

"Kits!" she rasped. "Jayfeather-" she was unable to finish her sentence as another surge of pain overwhelmed her. Luckily, Lionblaze understood. "I'll get Jayfeather, try to get into some cover." he nudged her towards a clump of ferns before racing off towards camp. _What if a fox comes across her? She would never be able to fight it off! It's all my fault! I'm the one who asked her to come out of camp! If anything happens to her… _With that unfinished thought he put on speed he didn't know he had, tearing into camp with a yowl of "JAYFEATHER!"

The cats in camp all started at his entrance, scared immediately by the urgency in his eyes. The dark grey tom appeared from the medicine den, and knew exactly why the golden tom was so worked up. "Let me get the herbs, it will take only a second." As he vanished back into his den, Lionblaze wasted no time in sending Poppyfrost to watch over Cinderheart. He knew he could trust her to protect his mate, who was also her remaining sister. Just as her pawsteps faded away, Jayfeather bounded out, jaws full of herbs. Lionblaze turned tail and raced back the way he came, knowing his brother, though blind, could keep pace almost as well as any other cat. He finally began to hear Cinderheart's yowls on pain, which spurred him faster. They finally reached her, and Lionblaze was pleased to find that Poppyfrost had made a somewhat comfortable nest in the ferns for Cinderheart. Jayfeather put his paws on her side, feeling each ripple.

"Poppyfrost find her a stick, a strong one. Lionblaze give her a juniper berry for strength."

As Poppyfrost looked around for a stick, Lionblaze looked confused. "What's a juniper berry?"

Jayfeather rolled his eyes, exasperated. "It's the only berry I brought mousebrain!"

Lionblaze picked one up, too worried to be embarrassed, and rolled it to Cinderheart. She lapped it up, managing to focus through her haze of pain.

"That's right, just focus on me." Lionblaze meowed, hoping to sound more calm than he felt. Cinderheart heard, and tried to put all her attention on his soft golden eyes. It helped with the pain a bit, and she could now hear the voices around her.

"You're doing wonderful Cinderheart, the first one is coming, push when I say so… Now!" She heard the familiar voice of Jayfeather and pushed with all her might, finding a stick being shoved in her mouth just in time, as she bit down when a stab of pain flashed through her body. She made out her sister's face next to Lionblaze's, and faintly saw a bundle of fur passed to Poppyfrost. Jayfeather gave her the command again, and soon after Lionblaze received a second bundle. She pushed through another wave of pain. Always looking into those golden eyes. On the third time, she broke her stick, but found it quickly replaced by a new one. She started to feel weak. She was distantly aware of the fact that Poppyfrost now had two bundles.

"Come on, one more Cinderheart, just stay awake for it!" She heard Jayfeather hiss, though an underlying concern was also there. She felt another surge on pain crash over her, and she clenched down on the stick yet again. "That's it, you're done." she heard faintly, but only just, as she let darkness overwhelm her vision and she closed her eyes on the golden ones.

Lionblaze let out a wail of distress as her eyes closed and her body went limp. _No no no no no no no! She can't be dead! Not now! She can't! _He turned his eyes desperately to Jayfeather, who also looked worried. The medicine cat passed the kit he had been licking to Lionblaze, and bent his head to her chest, holding it there for a few seconds. He finally straightened and turned to Lionblaze. "It's ok, she just blacked out, most likely from pain and exhaustion. She should wake up in a few minutes."

Lionblaze released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Poppyfrost also let out a choked sob of relief, burying her muzzle in Cinderheart's grey fur. Now that he knew his mate was alright, he turned to look at the kits. He purred at the sight, immediately loving them. The first kit was a creamy golden tabby she-cat with dark grey stripes. The little tom next to her was an exact copy of himself, with a slightly reddish tinge to himself, probably from his ginger great-grandfather- Firestar. He twitched his whiskers in amusement as the tiny cat pushed his sister aside. Beside him was a silver tabby she-cat, only a shade lighter than Cinderheart, with jet black tabby markings. Finally, the smallest in the litter was a little drop of gold, the only one who had received his long fur. Still purring, he curled his body around his family and licked Cinderheart's head gently, trying to rouse her. Her eyelids finally started to flicker, and she opened them suddenly, fixing him in her blue gaze.

Cinderheart slowly became aware of her surroundings, feeling a rhythmic licking on her head, as well as a soft pelt she knew all too well curled around her. The thing that most captured her attention though, was the squirming of tiny bodies against her belly. Realizing what those bodies were, her eyes flew open to meet Lionblaze's golden ones. She held the connection for a second, before turning to look at the prize of her hard work. Four, small bodies, still damp from birth, wriggling against her belly. She moved her fluffy tail to curl around them, purring strongly. She then bent her head to lick their fur in the wrong direction, although their spiky pelts held evidence that the job had been done already. Noticing that, she satisfied herself with smoothing them back, and then the wrong way again, continuing the process until their fur was dry. Then she turned to look at Lionblaze, Poppyfrost, and Jayfeather, pride in her eyes. She was met with a chorus of purring, even from the harsh medicine cat. Then he flicked his tail and was all business.

"We need to get these scraps back to camp and into the nursery, where it's warm. It would be just our luck if a fox came along, and with all this blood, I wouldn't want to risk it." he said, softening the last part a bit. Lionblaze nodded immediately and bent his head to pick up the creamy tabby. Poppyfrost took the golden tom, and Jayfeather took the silver tabby. Cinderheart stood up and shook her pelt out before picking up the remaining golden kit. With a flick of his tail, Jayfeather led the way back to camp.


	3. Chapter 3

Squirrelflight clawed at the ground anxiously, Lionblaze had dashed out of camp with Jayfeather only moments before, and she was worried for Cinderheart. She felt a tail lay softly across her back and heard a deep rumbling voice.

"They'll be alright Squirrelflight, don't worry." Bramblestar reassured her.

She searched his eyes worriedly. "What if something goes wrong? Lionblaze would be devastated!" she meowed agitated.

"Honestly you may be more worked up than I was when-" his criticism was interrupted by a wail from the nursery, accompanied with Daisy racing out of the nursery.

"Where are my kits?!" she yowled.

Squirrelflight felt her mate's body tense up.

"When was the last time anycat saw them?" he asked.

"I saw them playing around the entrance this morning." Lilypaw offered.

"That was before the sunhigh patrol though." argued Berrynose.

"I spotted them sniffing around the entrance." suggested Whitewing.

The clan erupted into a chorus of meowing, each arguing about who had seen what and when, with Bramblestar trying to silence the clamor. Squirrelflight shook her head, annoyed with the inefficiency of this method. She padded to the other side of the clearing to escape the sound and listened intensly, scenting the air as well. She heard a rustle from the top of the cliff and took one more breath to identify it. Her eyes widened as she saw Darkkit sliding down the cliff face, paws scrabbling at the crumbling surface.

"Hold on!" she yowled, as she began climbing towards him.

Darkkit spotted her and tried to hold on harder, but to no use. He was only about a tail length from the top, but he would soon reach the point where the cliff was so smooth it might as well not be there at all. Squirrelflight went as fast as she could manage, but her pregnant belly was not helping. Suddenly from behind her she heard a meow filled with fear.

"SQUIRRELFLIGHT!" Bramblestar yowled in terror behind her.

She shut out his panicked voice and the rest of the clan as she got closer to Darkkit. Suddenly his back paws gave out.

"No!" she heard a meow from above, as a tiny creamy silver body launched herself down to her brother.

"Moonkit!" Squirrelflight yowled. "Stop!" but it was too late to stop the brave kitten. She grabbed her littermate's scruff and hauled him up desperately, to her other brother waiting at the top. The weight of him was too much for her though. As she neared the top, the last bits of earth fell away from the smooth cliff face. As a last attempt, she launched herself up, passing Darkkit's weight onto Thistlekit. The jump to save her brother had separated her from the rock though. As the tiny body fell, Squirrelflight just made out a glimmer of relief as Darkkit was pulled onto solid ground by Thistlekit, before she hit the ground.

Bramblestar almost stopped in his headlong rush to save his mate as he saw Moonkit plummeting to the ground. Squirrelflight made her way up to Thistlekit and Darkkit and pulled them away from the edge, sorrow in her green eyes. He halted at the plume of dust surrounding the heroic kit. Daisy rushed forward to crouch by her, letting out the most heartbreaking yowl you could ever hear.

Thornclaw, the father of these kits, and now Daisy's official mate, came forward as well, collapsing by his daughter's body. Leafpool padded forward and sniffed at the limp body, though no cat had any doubt of the kitten's fate. Still, Leafpool's solum shake of her head sent a fresh wave of loss through his body. He bent his head for a moment, before raising it to face the clan.

"We have lost a great cat today. Though young in years, she died the death of a true warrior, saving another from the fate she chose to suffer instead. She died too young, too early. We will honor her as only a hero is honored." He dipped his head to Thornclaw and Daisy, murmuring an apology, before nodding to Leafpool. She walked to the medicine den, tail dragging, to fetch the herbs that would cloud the scent of death, though no herb in the world could erase the heartbreak the clan felt, after watching the tiny she cat leap off the rock wall, throwing her brother to safety while taking death for herself. He turned and looked up at Squirrelflight, who was holding the other two kits back with her tail, unwilling to let them see their broken sibling. At his motion, she led the kits down from the top, disappearing for a few moments before leading them into the camp. The two shaken kits ran to their mother and father, bending to sniff at Moonkit's fur, as if not believing she was gone. Bramblestar turned away, unable to bear the sight any longer. Squirrelflight licked his head soothingly. He took full responsibility for the death of his young clanmate. _If only I had been quicker, I could've caught her! But no, I went wrong even before that. While you were here bickering with the clan, your mate was the only one who actually did something about the kits! _He berated himself. Squirrelflight seemed to read his mind.

"It's not your fault." she assured him. "The kits shouldn't have left camp."

"I shouldn't have _let _them" he snarled, a bit sharper than he had meant to maybe, as he saw a flash of hurt in his mate's eyes. "I'm sorry," he sighed, "I just can't believe she died so young."

"Well if it's any consolation," Squirrelflight responded, "she died happy and painlessly."

"How do you know?"

"She did what she set out to do." the ginger she-cat purred, "I could see it on her face as Thistlekit pulled Darkkit back over the edge, she was relieved and content."

Bramblestar looked her in the eyes, hope rising in his chest. "Really?" he asked.

"Really." she answered, happy to see the spark back in his eyes, even if it was dulled.

Lionblaze padded into camp with the creamy tabby kit in his jaws, almost dropping her in shock. There was a tiny body lying out in the center of the camp, with Daisy, Thornclaw, Thistlekit, and Darkkit, all crouched around it. _Moonkit. _He realized as her recognized the small figure. He turned to Cinderpelt to see her eyes full of pain. She couldn't stop though, they needed to get these kits to the den. They padded into the nursery, and Cinderpelt settled down in her nest as the kits all tucked in beside her, nursing for only a moment before falling asleep. Seeing she seemed to have the same idea, Lionblaze licked her head in farewell.

"I'll come to check on you later." he called to her. He padded over to Squirrelflight. "What happened?" he asked anxiously.

After she explained it to him, he padded over to the broken family crouching around her body. Darkkit was muttering "It's my fault." while Daisy tried to explain it wasn't through her pain. It obviously wasn't working very well.

"I'm so sorry." he meowed. "I wish I could be of some help, but I can see the only thing I can do is leave to to grieve. Thornclaw nodded to him while Daisy blinked gratefully. He nodded in return to them and padded to the warriors den, exhausted from his long day. As he drifted off into sleep he thought of his new family, and it warded off any bad dreams about Moonkit.

Lionblaze padded back into camp after Moonkit's burial the next morning, and went straight to the nursery. Cinderheart had been unable to attend, due to the newborns. He squeezed his way through the entrance, muttering "We have _got _to widen this a bit." as a few twigs took their little suvenir of golden fur. He heard a purr of amusement from his right, and turned to see Cinderheart, light from the sunlight turning her grey fur to gold with her tail wrapped firmly around the squirming bodies at her belly. He felt his heart expand at the sight of the family, _my family. _He thought as he closed the distance between them and lay beside her, tail over the kits protectively. He met her shining blue gaze purring.

"We need to name them." she mewed softly.

"I'll leave you two then." Daisy meowed from the other side of the nursery.

Lionblaze turned his head, pelt growing hot, as he realized he hadn't greeted her.

"Sorry Daisy, I didn't mean to ignore you." he meowed.

She let out a mrrow of amusement as she gathered Darkkit and Thistlekit with her tail, while it had a tinge of sadness, the she-cat seemed to be recovering from Moonkit's death.

"Oh believe me, I understand. It's so easy to let the fluffballs distract you." she purred, looking fondly down at her kits as they made their way out of the nursery.

Once they were left alone, he lifted his tail to curl it around her, so they could see the tiny cats. He almost purred at the first-born, she was a perfect mix of the two of them. He saw Cinderheart's whiskers twitch as well, seeing her pale golden coat with grey tabby markings.

"What about Fernkit?" he suggested, a hint of pain in his voice, remembering the cat who had been like a second, well, third mother to him, when Squirrelflight had no milk. Cinderheart licked his cheek soothingly.

"Of course, she will grow to have the heart of her namesake, and the strength of her father."

"And the spirit of her mother." he added in approval.

She purred and he trailed his tail over the next kitten, a golden tom with a reddish tinge to his pelt.

"Sunkit." she meowed, and he looked at her surprised.

"Thats a unique name." he said.

A flash of defense showed in her eyes, and she argued, "Look at the way his pelt glows in the sun, it's as if he is part of it!"

He shook his head in amusement. "I never said i didn't like it." he purred, flicking his tail over her flank.

Her eyes softened and she said happily, "Sunkit it is then."

He nodded with a twitch of his whiskers, and looked at the next in line. A beautiful silver she-cat with night-black tabby markings. In his mind's eye he saw a flash of the silver-cream apprentice that had been buried only moments before. As if reading his mind, Cinderheart meowed softly

"Moonkit."

He met her sad eyes and nodded once, and that was all that needed to be said.

Then he looked at the last kitten, a tiny bit of a cat, but it seemed starclan had tried to make up for that with long golden fur.

"Hmm… she looks so like you." Cinderheart murmured.

"Maybe her coloring, though I think I might be a bit larger than her…" he joked.

Cinderheart purred in amusement, then seemed to think for a second.

"What about Goldkit, no… Goldenkit." she concluded, seeming satisfied.

"Alright." he agreed, "Goldkit."

The two cats then gazed at their new kittens happily, content to simply bask in the warm sun and the mutual love.

Brambleclaw was roused from his sleep by an pained moan from the camp. He pinned his ears back in pity, assuming it was Daisy. They had buried Moonkit that morning, and she couldn't bear to watch the kit's fragile body disappear into the earth. The camp had been quiet after that, only two hunting patrols and one border patrol. They had all grieved for the young cat, though spirit's were raised a bit when Lionblaze announced the names of his and Cinderpelt's kits, a small reminder that there was still new life. The moan sounded again to interrupt his thoughts, louder this time, and he realized it didn't sound like Daisy. Worried, he got up from his nest and padded out to find the source. With a rush of realization, he found it from the nursery, and in an instant was yowling for Jayfeather.

Squirrelflight pushed the last kitten out, gasping for breath, but determined to stay conscious for every second of her first litter. She looked down at the four tiny cats proudly and let out a raspy purr. Jayfeather gave her a word of praise after checking on her health and the kit's. Then he padded out of the den, and she hoped he would send in Brambleclaw. Daisy had left the moment she was wakened by Brambleclaw's yowls, knowing her kits were still too young to see the process of birth. Squirrelflight looked toward the entrance, and even as she did, a dark tabby head appeared, followed by broad shoulders brushing the entrance as her mate pushed into the nursery. His amber eyes glowed as he met her gaze. She purred louder and pushed her muzzle into his. He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them to see the kits. She looked at them, unable to remove her eyes, and murmured "What should we name them?"

Brambleclaw paused, thinking. Then said, "Why don't we name the one's we have clear ideas for, and wait for the others to open their eyes."

"Always the tactful one." she purred, twitching her whiskers.

He just rolled his eyes at her comment and trailed his tail over the firstborn- a dark tabby, just like himself, already larger than his siblings.

"Tigerkit." he murmured.

Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?" she asked, knowing what the name meant to him.

He nodded, looking sure of himself. "I want to give this name one last chance to redeem itself." he said, eyes shining with determination.

She immediately agreed, seeing that look on his face. She then turned to look at the kits again, one in particular giving her an idea.

"What about Frostkit?" she suggested, touching the second one with her tail. She was a brown tabby, with a silver undercoat.

Brambleclaw purred in agreement. "The silver looks like the last bits of frost towards the beginning of newleaf."

They looked to the third kit, a dark tabby she-kit.

"I think we should wait to name her." Squirrelflight voiced her thoughts.

"Yes, maybe she will end up with your eyes." her mate purred.

She purred in return and as they lay eyes on the last kit, a fluffy ginger tabby, they said the same word in unison, full of wonder and hope.

**"****Firekit."**


	4. Pictures and Descriptions

**::::::::WARNING::::::::**

**(: I MAY FORGET TO UPDATE THESE NAMES AS THE CHARACTER'S NAMES CHANGE. SO YOU MUST USE YOUR BRAINS HERE :)**

**ALSO I MIGHT UPDATE BETTER PICTURES FOR THE CATS**

****Lionblaze: ****

**Lionblaze: **

**Cinderheart:**

**Goldensky:** delicate long-furred golden she-cat with brilliant sky-blue eyes

**Sunstreak**: golden tom with a reddish tinge and golden eyes

**Moonshade: **beautiful pale silver tabby she-cat with jet-black markings

**Fernstripe**:pale golden tabby she-cat with dark grey stripes

and amber eyes

**Bramblestar: **

**Squirrelflight:**

**Firestrike: **Broad-shouldered dark ginger tom with

thick fur and amber eyes

**Frostpatch:** silver and brown tabby she-cat with ginger patches

and pale green eyes

**Tigerleap: **huge dark brown tom with thick fur and

green eyes

**Emeraldheart:** brown-grey she-cat with a black tabby markings

and striking green eyes

**Darkpelt**: light golden-brown tom with dark

brown tabby markings

**Thistlestripe: **pale cream tabby tom with yellow eyes

**Cinderheart:**

**Goldenkit:** delicate long-furred golden she-cat with brilliant sky-blue eyes

**Sunkit**: golden tom with a reddish tinge and golden eyes

**Moonkit: **beautiful pale silver tabby she-cat with jet-black markings

**Fernkit**:pale golden tabby she-cat with dark grey stripes and amber eyes

s

**Bramblestar: **

**Squirrelflight:**

**Firekit: **Broad-shouldered dark ginger tom with

thick fur and amber eyes

**Frostkit:** silver and brown tabby she-cat with ginger patches

and pale green eyes

**Tigerkit: **huge dark brown tom with thick fur and

green eyes

**Emeraldkit:** brown-grey she-cat with a black tabby markings

and striking green eyes

**Darkkit**: light golden-brown tom with dark

brown tabby markings

****Thistlekit: ******pale cream tabby tom with yellow eyes**


End file.
